Hyde Park: "A Turn Around the Park", 4/14: late am; David A, Kitty, Belle

[Kitty Clement (Jen)]

The Clement family had decided to take a turn around the park after church, much like most of the congregation it seemed. However, after barely a few minutes of walking in the company of her father, step-mother and two brothers, Kitty had grown irrevocably tired of the gossiping and incessant chatter that issued from her step-mother. As they were strolling behind her parents, Kitty caught the eye of her brother Joseph, and they exchanged mutual glances of boredom and desire to escape. Kitty had never wished to display favouritism when it came to her brothers, but it couldn't be helped that she enjoyed talking with Joseph, and walking through the park with him would be infinitely more pleasant than her current situation.

Giving a sort of nod in the other direction, they managed to separate from the group without anyone noticing, since her parents were so engrossed in conversation and her other brother distracted by hot cross buns. Kitty and Joseph walked a little way, talking occasionally, before passing right by Lady Cassandra. Not wishing to seem rude, for she was sure she had caught her eye, Kitty turned to her and smiled.

"Good morning, Lady Cassandra..."

[David Alford (Francesca)]

"Oh think nothing of it!" said Cassandra airily. "I dare say I am quite as used as you to rambling about in the countryside. And what is one supposed to do when one is in a hurry? It is all very well to shuffle along and look bored, but it takes ever so long, do you not agree? Sometimes, it makes me want to scream in impatience, I declare! I dare say people might find it very peculiar though, if I did that in Hyde Park!"

"Yet another example of how things are done in Yorkshire, no doubt", put in David with a curl of the lip. "In truth, it amazes me no end how frequently an unpleasing laxity of manner in town is attributed to the greater freedom of country customs. For my own part, I have never encountered lack of breeding to such a great degree in the country." Sometimes, he was quite frankly amazed by Cassandra's foolishness. He supposed that the only defence available to her was that she was still quite young, although she certainly was not too young to be married!

Ugh! What a to-do over a completely innocuous remark. Sometimes, Cassandra had trouble believing that David was quite human. The way he seized upon statements exaggerated for dramatic effect only to offer some unwelcome social commentary on them was quite awful. She was glad when Miss Beacham turned the conversation to more welcome topics. "Oh! So you have met Charlie?" she inquired. "Mr. Charles Devenish, that is. You are correct of course - we have been acquainted for some years now. He was with Tristan at Eton and they became quite good friends. And his family lives quite near the Fitzgeralds whom I have known since I was a little girl. He is a very amiable gentleman, is he not? So free and charming in his manners!"

She was about to turn to David and inform him that Charlie too would soon be a man of the cloth when she was hailed by another arrival. She looked around to ascertain the woman's identity, and curtsied upon seeing Miss Clement (or The Smirking Lady as she had named her) whom she had encountered in the park the previous Thursday. "Miss Clement! Allow me to wish you a very happy Easter. Are you acquainted at all with my companions? May I present you to David, Lord Auckland, and Miss Beacham? David, Miss Beacham, this is Miss Clement whom I met a few days ago."

[Annabelle Beacham (Betsy)]

Belle couldn't help but stare agog at David. Was he really this crotchety? Or was he feigning for some sort of joke? He couldn't look more displeased if he were sitting smack in the middle of a manure pile! Belle was grateful Cassandra took the conversation another route; although this Lord Auckland would certainly find disfavor with whatever was said, no matter the topic.

At the introduction, Belle made a pretty curtsey to Miss Clement. "How do you do, Miss Clement?" Any acquaintance of Cassandra's was sure to be perfectly amiable. Well, except for this Lord Auckland, but one truly couldn't help one's relatives.

[Kitty Clement (Jen)]

Kitty looked to Lord Auckland and Miss Beacham with polite interest. Another fair debutante, it seems the town is overrun with them this year... she thought in regards to Belle, though she could find no observations to make in regards to Lord Auckland. "And a Happy Easter to you all," said Kitty, curtseying as the introductions were made. "This is my younger brother, Joseph" she indicated the young man next to her who gave a bow and smiled charmingly. He was seventeen, but he already had the good looks of his father, and he was well-mannered if a little over-confident.

"I do hope you found your bonnet, Lady Cassandra?" enquired Kitty with a quirk of the brow, remembering the unusual yet amusing circumstances in which they had met before.

[David Alford (Francesca)]

((OOC: Jen, while we decided that David and Kitty would have a dance together, he couldn't very well ask someone he didn't even know yet IC. Would you mind dreadfully if you had to edit that part of your post?))

Acknowledging Miss Clement's introduction, Cassandra curtsied to Mr Joseph Clement and looked interestedly at him. He had a comely enough face, but was clearly a mere lad, probably no older than her, and quite possibly even younger. She wondered what he was doing in London.

Similar thoughts were running through David's mind as nodded curtly to Miss Clement's brother. Why was this boy not in school? What were his parents thinking? It seemed an unproductive line of thought, so he turned to Miss Clement who seemed an unexceptionable sort of lady instead and bowed over her hand. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance", he said politely.

Cassandra was feeling somewhat less charitably disposed towards Miss Clement. Why did she see it fit to bring up that old incident again, and why was she quirking her eyebrow at her in that odious way? She was convinced that she could see a distinctly supercilious expression on Miss Clement's face, and she did not like it at all. In any case, she had been there to see the whole thing! She was the one who had spotted Tristan approaching in the first place! Really, the whole thing made her feel quite indignant.

She gritted her teeth into the semblance of a smile which if not exactly charming was at least suitably large. "I did, thank you very much", she cooed. "How kind of you to ask! But if memory does not escape me, you were present the whole while, were you not? But then, I know some people are always forgetting things! It must be a sore trial, I am sure."

[Annabelle Beacham (Betsy)]

Belle curtseyed to Mr. Clement and watched the exchange between the two ladies. Even Belle could note that there was a bit of forced gentility in Cassandra's tone. Perhaps she didn't like discussing her own bonnet incident (although Belle had found it extremely comforting, on hearing about it, that she was not the only one to lose her bonnet in the high winds on Thursday). In any case, Belle interjected cheerfully.

"Will you both be attending the Emerson Ball? We were just discussing it, and how marvelous it is supposed to be!"

[Kitty Clement (Jen)]

((ooc: of course, done! Also, I completely forgot that Cassandra did find her hat after all, that was me making a mistake xD Oh well I'll just work with it! Also Bets, I'm not sure if Joseph would even be invited to the ball as he's only 17? I dont know...))

Kitty did not miss Cassandra's annoyed tone of voice and rather overdone smile, but simply looked at her pointedly and said "Ah yes of course, how silly of me to forget! But then, some things are simply too dull or too absurd to impress themselves upon one's memory, don't you find?" Joseph looked distinctly uncomfortable as these sparks flew, for her knew what his sister's temper was like, and being the sort of gentleman who liked everyone to be happy, fervently wished she would not be so rude.

He was about to jump at the chance at a change in topic when Miss Beacham brought up the Emerson Ball, but Kitty replied before him. "I'm sure it will be spectacular," the way everyone is constantly talking about it you would think no one had ever attended a ball before, she thought, though for once did not speak her mind. "May I ask what you will be dressed as?"

[David Alford (Francesca)]

((OOC: Shall we start wrapping this up? I really want to be able to put my characters into the ball. Jen, David can ask Kitty to dance there, if you want.))

Cassandra dearly wished that she had a lorgnette that she could raise and inspect Miss Clement through. Instead, she settled for looking at her with a slightly quizzical look in her eyes. "You find it easy to forget absurd things?" she repeated. "How singular. Unless of course you find absurd things dull." If she did, she was clearly missing out on one of the great joys of life. She almost found herself feeling sorry for the girl, but not quite, because she did seem to Cassandra to be a disagreeable sort of creature, with far too lofty an opinion of herself.

Letting the subject lapse, she turned herself to the task of answering the other question. "I am not attending dressed as anything", she replied. "To the best of my knowledge, it is not a masquerade or a costume party. But, as I was telling Miss Beacham, I believe that I will be wearing flowers rather than feathers." She grinned at Belle. "Miss Beacham has proved to be quite reticent on the subject of her toilette for the ball, but I am sure we shall see it for ourselves tonight. As for Lord Auckland, he wisely pointed out, that as a gentleman, he does not have a pressing need to don flowers or feathers." The thought of David decked out in either accessory was a humorous one, particularly when contrasted with his sour face, and she had to bite back a smile. Great, waving ostrich plumes perhaps she thought. Dyed....orange. Or peacock feathers! Better and better! She hastily turned a chortle into an unconvincing cough.

In the mean while, David had been standing silently by. The conversation had returned to frivolous topics and he had tuned it out. Honestly, there were only so many times of could actively disapprove of such fribble before the disapproval itself turned wearisome. Was there not a single young woman in the ton with an interesting or original opinion in her head? He cleared his throat. "Lady Saxton and Latimer seem to have returned from their walk, Cassandra", he said, nodding at two approaching figures. "They are heading towards us. I believe it might be time to return to our homes."

He bowed to the two other ladies present. "Miss Clement, Miss Beacham, it has been a pleasure."

[Annabelle Beacham (Betsy)]

"Indeed, I shan't reveal it! I"m afraid it's not terribly original or unique, but I won't spoil the surprise anyway." Belle beamed at the two. How nice to make so many new acquaintances in one afternoon at the park. At this rate, she would know the whole Ton by the end of the week.

Frankly, however, the conversation was getting rather dull, and as much as she enjoyed making their acquaintances, she felt rather scrutinized by Miss Clement and Lord Auckland. They both had that piercing way of looking at a girl...in any case, she was glad that Cassandra had to leave. "I ought to be finding my cousin as well...I'm sure there are many preparations to make before the ball!"

She offered the usual courtesies all around, and headed off to find out where Daphne had gone off to.

[Kitty Clement (Jen)]

((ooc: certainly!))

Feeling mildly relieved that the encounter seemed to be at an end, Miss Clement curtseyed politely to all and Joseph gave a bow to them flashing them a smile. Kitty's expression remained lightly curious, but she did smile to Lady Cassandra. Despite getting the distinct feeling Cassandra disliked her, she couldn't help but admire her wit and the fact that she remained singularly un-phased by Kitty's scrutiny. Having made their goodbyes, they headed back in the direction that they might find the rest of the family.